A Truce, and the Truth
by idontgiveaschmidt
Summary: So, Kaiba and Jou have agreed on a truce. But what will this truce produce? Eventual SXJ
1. Coincidental Agreements

Author's Notes:

Summary: With the start of senior year, people are tired of Kaiba and Jounouchi's bitter relationship. When they involuntarily agree to a truce, will they become friends, or possibly more?

_italics mean flashbacks.

_Kaiba and Jou are probably going to be ooc.

_Warning:possible yaoi, later in the story.

_Read&Review please :D. This is my second fic, but i erased my first after a day. I didn't like it. So any criticsm helps.

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No POV.

In a beautiful mansion in the wealthy neighborhoods of Domino, a sleeping CEO was jerked awake by an obnoxious alarm. Angrily, he shut it off. He hadn't had to wake up this early all summer. Unfortunately, today was the first day of school. However, it wasn't the start to just any school year- it was senior year. As he got into the shower, a dreadful feeling came over him as he remembered what he agreed to do today.

"_Big brother, I've been thinking…"_

"_Thinking what Mokuba?" Seto Kaiba knew that whenever his younger brother was 'thinking' that he was up to something._

"_This year is your senior year," Mokuba began._

"_Your point being?" Kaiba grew impatient._

"_This is the last year you have to spend with Yugi and the rest-"_

"_His little geek squad. I'm thrilled." Kaiba interrupted._

"_Actually Seto, I was thinking that you should try being nice this year,"_

"_What? To those dorks, no way!"_

"_I didn't mean all of them. If you would stop interrupting me, you would know."_

"_I don't think I want to know your little plan Mokuba." Seto was met with Mokuba's infamous puppy eyes._

"_Oh, fine." Seto sighed, giving in as usual._

"_All I'm asking is for you to be nice to Jou." Seto spit out the coffee he had been drinking._

"_You have got to be kidding me! Why him?"_

"_Because, you two constantly fight. You act like you're nine year-olds! It's time that you two grew up and started acting civil towards each other. Who knows? You two might even become friends."_

"_He starts it," Kaiba muttered. Mokuba glared at him. "You're getting pretty good at that, Mokie."_

"_I learn from the best. Now What do you say, big brother? Do this for your favorite little brother who you would do absolutely anything for."_

_Seto sighed, Mokuba knew he was Seto's weakness. "Fine, Mokuba, I'll be civil to that mutt, I can't guarantee anything else."_

"_And stop calling him mutt. Or anything that classifies him as a dog," Mokuba added, knowing his brother would try and find his way around it._

"_Fine."_

'What did I get myself into?' Kaiba thought. He got dressed and went to wake up Mokuba.

"Ready for today?" the younger boy chirped.

"Of course," answered Kaiba, quite sarcastically. Twenty minutes later, they climbed into Kaiba's custom-made blue Mitsubishi Eclipse. He dropped off his younger brother, as he was enrolled in private school, and it started early.

--

Not too far from the mansion, in the poorer area of Domino, streaks of sun glimmered through the window of Katsuya Jounouchi. He grabbed his pillow and put it over his face. His father came into the room. "Really Katsuya, you're seventeen and trying to hide from the sun?"

"Morning pops," Jounouchi smiled. His father had been sober for awhile. He even got a job, which paid enough for them to live comfortably. Jou even got new school clothes for the first time in awhile. They still lived in the rundown apartment, but it was home.

"My son, a senior," his father beamed at the thought of a Jounouchi graduating from school. "Breakfast is ready,"

Jou sat down to breakfast and smiled. Suddenly he frowned. Today was supposed to be a good day, but then he remembered his talk with Yugi the other day.

" _You know Jou, I think you should stop this fighting with Kaiba."_

"_WHAT? Yugi, what's gotten into ya'?" Jou said, bewildered, shaking the younger boy._

"_It's just that you've fought since the first day of high school. I think two years of fighting is long enough. Plus, if you're going to school in America, this is the last year you'll see him. I think you should be on good terms. What's the point in fighting?"_

" _I guess you're right," Jou sighed. "I don't think it will be easy though, Kaiba hates me."_

"Katsuya, you haven't eaten." Jou's father was looking at him, concerned.

"Oh,yeah." Jou had been shredding his toast into small bits.

"Guess I'm not that hungry. See ya pops." Jou headed out the door to school.

He saw a familiar flash of blue. Kaiba, of course. All of a sudden, the car swerved, and reappeared in front of Jou. The window rolled down. "Get in," Kaiba commanded. "We need to talk."

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Chapter 1-More of just an explanation chapter. I want their friendship/relationship, whatever, to develop gradually. R&R please, so i know whether i should continue the fic.

Thanks :D


	2. Forced Words Aren't So Bad

Author's Note:

_This is all in Kaiba's POV. Sorry if he's out of contrast.

_I've been super busy lately, with percussion auditions,absences, and what not. Plus, I have loads of homework that I have to get done, so sorry that it takes me so long to , yeah and i rewrote this, but i originally wrote it the day after the first chapter.

_This chapter is pretty short, but i think it's better that way.

_I tried to add more detail(Thanks reviewers!) It probably didn't work well though,sorry.. And,yeah. Some random things in this chapter will be more important later.

R&R Please!

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Forced Words

"Perfect timing," I murmured to myself, as my car raced past a glimpse of blonde. Katsuya, of course. So, I had to turn around, regardless of the narrow street. Being Seto Kaiba, that was not a difficult task to accomplish. "Get in," I said, abruptly, very tempted to call him mutt.

He eyed me strangely, probably because I was laughing. However, I had an accurate reason, I wasn't like that dork who just starts guffawing out of nowhere, when nothing even remotely funny was happening. Anyway, Jou was maneuvering himself into the passenger seat, ever so careful not to touch anything but the seat, I assume because he figured he would break something. It was possible, he is pretty clumsy.

"Afraid the car will bite you if you touch it, Mu- Jounouchi? I mean, you've been getting into the car for like the past two minutes."

"Sorry, it's just- it's so nice." Jou admired each and every aspect of my car. "Wouldn't want to ruin such a beauty," he murmured.

"I don't understand," I faked. "You couldn't possibly ruin _me _by trying to get into my car."

Jou looked puzzled for a moment, but then a grin spread across his face. "Real funny Kaiba. Why are you being so friendly today?"

Great, I could stall no longer. I sighed, mentally going over what needed to be said.

"This is weird," announced Jou, interrupting the silence. "First I hope that I can avoid you today, but suddenly, I'm in your car.." Jou recapped.

"You wanted to avoid me?"

"Well, yeah. See, Yugi said that since it was senior year and all, this may be the last year that you and me are together, and so he wanted me to tell ya that-"

"I want a truce, Jounouchi." I stated, feeling like my tongue had to push each word out of my mouth.

"Are you psychic, Kaiba? Because that's what Yugi wanted me to say."

"Mokuba." I gave my excuse. He offered his hand, nervously, it seemed. I took it, firmly.

"Truce." We agreed, and shook. I fiddled with my state-of-the-art stereo, not quite knowing what to say next.

"Wow," Jou stared in awe. " That is awesome." He motioned towards my stereo. "But, uh, how exactly do you work that thing?"

I stayed silent for a second, weighing my options. Then I gave him an answer, which even surprised me. "It's complicated," I began, "But I could show you sometime if you want."

Jou paused, probably in as much shock as I was. "Really?" He cocked his head to the side. As we pulled up to school, I rethought my words, carefully.

"Yeah," I smiled. After all, it was a new year, and it was definitely a new start to my year. I could afford to make a new friend. As I stepped out of the car, I wondered what I had gotten myself into. Oddly enough, instead of the usual dread accompanied with my mistakes, a new feeling crept over me, but it didn't make sense. It was like nervousness, like when i'm in big proposal meetings, but mixed with some excitement. Sort of like (in sappy love poems, of course) when my fangirls say they get-- butterflies.

But why is this happening to me?

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Yay, Review, please. And don't worry, there won't be any confessions of love next chapter. I intend to keep this gradual :D

Oh,yeah. Anddd i promise i will update BY the weekend. Maybe even tomorrow, but no promises on that.


	3. Being Civil

Author's Note:

_Another short chapter, sorry. I promise, they will get longer as the story develops.

_All in Jou's POV.

R&R!Enjoy!

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Being Civil

I ran up the steps to meet Yugi. "I did it," I announced, beaming. I had to admit, Moneybags did most of the work, but hey, it was only because he stole the words outta my mouth. "

"And?" Yugi questioned expectantly.

"What? We made the dumb truce, the end."

"That's it? You didn't go over anything else? It's more complicated than just saying 'I want a truce'. I mean are you just going to stop fighting or try and become friends? What about the name calling is that going to stop? And-"

"I get it Yugi," I interrupted. This was harder than I thought. "Oh well, a truce is a truce right, I mean, usually in a truce don't you, like, uhhh? Yeah." He was right, I had to go talk to Kaiba about this whole truce thing.

I could see the laughter dancing in Yugi's eyes. In my defense, I offered, "At least we shook on it!" He just smiled, obviously laughing at the frivolousness of the situation. "I gotta get to class," I mumbled angrily. He could be so unsupportive.

After glancing down at my schedule, I had no classes with Yugi for the day, I headed off to first period. Luck was on my side. Already seated, and looking rather bored, was Kaiba. He glanced up, and caught my eye. I bravely walked over and sat down in front of him. "We need to talk," I whispered, as the bell rang, and the teacher began to take attendance.

"I'm one step ahead of you, see." He smirked, thrusting a paper in my hands. It was a contract. Leave it to Kaiba to make a simple truce seem so business-like and important. I scanned over it, taking my time. He must have seen my confusion, because he explained, " Basically, what it says is that we agree to stop the fighting and the name calling. However, there is no promise of a friendship or anything of that sort. It's just about being civil."

"You could have just written that. All this fancy shmancy CEO talk I can't understand."

He smiled. "Sorry."

I freaked, he was actually making an effort to be nice.

" Jounouchi and .Kaiba, please stop the chatting back there!" The teacher glared at us, and then stopped in confusion. All the teachers heard about the rivalry between Kaiba and me, so she was a little shocked to see that the rumors weren't true. Once the teacher returned to explaining the rules, Kaiba gently tapped me.

"What?" I whispered, glancing at the teacher, not wanting to get a detention. He obviously shared my thoughts, because he passed me a note. I smiled, so middle school. So girly. I opened it, and in neat, almost feminine script, it read,

_What am I supposed to call you now? No more name calling remember…_

We continued the conversation until the end of class. At lunch, I proudly showed the note to Yugi, showing off the progress I'd made. Even though the note was slightly crumpled, you could still clearly see the rest of the conversation.

**Oh, I forgot about that. I guess, Jou. I mean that's what everyone else calls me. **

_Okay then, Jou._

**I guess, I'll call you Kaiba, even though I'll miss some of your other nicknames.**

_Good. You should probably cut down on the profanity anyway._

**I can do whatever the fuck I want. Kidding.**

_Whatever. So, when did you want to see my stereo?_

**Oh yeah! Umm..when aren't you busy? Wait, is that even possible? Kaiba, not busy. Ha, not likely.**

_Actually, I'm free tomorrow, for your information._

**Geez Kaiba, loosen up. I was kiddin' with ya. Tomorrow it is then. Haha, Kaiba's hanging out with me, Kaiba's hanging out with me!**

_You are such a five-year old!_

Yugi smiled at me, after reading. "That should be interesting," he commented. "Hanging out with Kaiba."

I nodded. What I didn't know was that it would turn out to be a lot more interesting than I could have ever imagined.


	4. The Truth of the Truce

A/N:

_No POV.

_Updates galore this week. Might be the last one until next week, depending on reviews.

_Longest Chapter yet. && Still no SxJ :)

Enjoy and Review Please!

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The school day dragged by for both Jou and Kaiba. They hadn't seen each other all day. Before last period, Jou consulted Yugi. "I have no classes with Kaiba today. What do I do if I can't find him after school, or if he stands me up?"

"Jou relax, you're hanging out with Kaiba, it's not a date!"

"I know that Yugi! Ew, I could never like him like that." Jou sputtered in disbelief, almost bumping into someone.

"I was kidding!" Yugi exclaimed, rather amused by his friend's behavior. "Besides, you never know, weird things happen. You're barely on friendly terms. See where it goes, Jou. Give him a chance. You could end up liking him, you may even be friends."

"Thanks for the pep talk, Anzu." Jou rolled his eyes, leaving for class.

Eyes fixed on the clock, Seto hardly tuned in to the teacher's monotonous drone. He didn't know why he was so nervous. It wasn't a blind date or anything. For that matter, it wasn't even a date. It was hanging out, not even with someone exciting. It was Jou. Yet, Seto found that it was all he could think about during the course of the day, and when the bell rang, he was absolutely terrified.

Kaiba stood up, but his legs were frozen in place. Mentally, he was cursing himself for ever thinking that showing Jou his stereo would be a good idea. He was hoping that Jou had already realized how ridiculous the situation was, and left, because there was no way Kaiba was about to stand someone up. He might have an icy heart, but it wasn't completely frozen over.

Jou waited by Kaiba's car, not wanting to lean against it. He was still afraid of damaging it, Kaiba was the type that would freak out over a miniscule scratch. "Hey," Jou mumbled, awkwardly.

"Hey," returned Kaiba. For once, he wasn't feeling so charismatic. He fumbled with his keys, and accidentally dropped them. Jou was courteous enough to pick them up, and their fingertips brushed as he returned them. They both shook it off as an accident.

Once inside, it was silent for awhile. Jou started tapping nervously on the dashboard. His stomach growled and Kaiba laughed. Jou crinkled his nose. "Hungry?" Kaiba teased. "Want anything in particular?" As Jou shook his head in return, Seto sped off to the nearest pizza parlor.

As they entered the door, Kaiba looked mischeviously at Jou. He felt a little childish for what he was about to ask, but anything would be better than an awkward silence. "Hey Jou, Truth or Dare?"

"Uh, dare." Jou chose, uncertainly. He hoped Kaiba wouldn't dare him to pay, because his pockets were empty.

"I dare you to eat a pizza with everything on it." Kaiba challenged.

"Easy."

They sat down in a booth after Kaiba ordered, and paid, which earned an internal sigh of relief from Jou. As they waited for the pizza, Jou spoke up. "Truth or dare, Kaiba?" He expected for Kaiba to say dare, which would probably be boring because Kaiba never backs down from a challenge.

Surprise, surprise. "Truth, Jou."

"Why don't you like me?"

Just as soon as Kaiba opened his mouth to reply, a pizza was set down in front of them. It was absolutely disgusting. Piled high with, anchovies, mushrooms, olives, well, you get the idea. What disgusted Kaiba even more was the fact that Jou was scarfing it down, by the slice.

Jou looked up as Kaiba attempted to stifle a laugh. "Wha?" Jou asked with his mouth full.

"Nothing, it's just that you have sauce on your nose." He took his thumb and gently brushed off the sauce, wiping it into a napkin afterward.

"Thanks," Jou blushed, slightly. "You want some?" He asked to change the subject.

"No thanks."

A few minutes later, Jou was finished. They got back into the car. There was a peaceful silence, but then Jou realized something, as Kaiba drove along. "You never answered my question."

"Oh, yeah. Your question isn't valid anyway."

"What the fuck do you mean it isn't valid? Didn't your teachers ever tell you there was no such thing as a stupid question?" Jou interrogated angrily, thinking that Kaiba was trying to get out of answering.

"Calm down, Jou." Kaiba began, rolling his eyes. " In order for me to answer your question, the question would have to be true. In this case it isn't." Kaiba continued, seeing Jou's baffled face. "I never said I didn't like you. Well I might have said it," he corrected himself as Jou opened his mouth to object. "Never meant it."

"Then why were you so mean to me?"

"You're not special, Jou. Wait, I didn't mean that. I'm sure tons of people think you're special. But anyway, I've never been that nice to anyone. I didn't mean to just single you out. I guess the fighting was kind of immature though. But I felt like you challenged me, like no one else did. Your runt of a friend may have been a challenge in Duel Monsters, but you were the only person who wasn't afraid to stand up to me."

Jou took it all in silently.

"And that was why I wanted the truce. "

"I thought Mokie made you do it."

"Only because he sensed that I wouldn't do it by myself. That kid can read my thoughts like a book, and I'll do whatever he wants. So he was the one who actually got me to do it."

"Smart Kid." Jou couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Yep." Kaiba glanced at the glowing blue numbers on the stereo clock. "School day tomorrow, I better take you home."

Jou's face fell. "But you didn't show me how the stereo worked." He pouted, as he got out of the car. It wasn't really that, he had kind of enjoyed his time with Kaiba. As he turned to close the door, Kaiba whispered, "Truth or Dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to cancel any plans you have this Saturday and spend it with me instead."

"I'll do it." Jou accepted the challenge. Then his heart sank. How was he going to be able to get out of his plans with the gang?


	5. The Start of Something New?

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Author's Note: I'll just take care of this in one long paragraph. Okay, so it's been a while since i posted, i think? But anyway, i'm out of school for christmas break now, so expect the story to be completed by next week. :[ I liked this story, but only two chapters left, and i know what's going to happen in them, so i'm excited! I hope you like the chapter, i thought it was pretty interesting, a few hints of what's to come...Read&Review, por favor. Oh, there are POV changes, not too many, but it says it there for you :) So yeah, that's basically it. But if there is a pairing (preferably YAOI) that you would like to see me attempt to write a fic on, let me know in your review and i'll consider it :)

Enjoy!

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Jou's POV

I sighed, as I dragged myself to school. Today was Friday, and I still hadn't figured out what I was supposed to do about tomorrow. Maybe they would understand, I mean it was a dare, it's not like I was choosing him over them. Was I? Well, it was just a silly little dare, but I couldn't imagine what Kaiba would think. He does have feelings after all. But hey, maybe I could avoid both Kaiba and my friends.

What am I thinking? Oh great, here comes Yugi now.

"You excited about tomorrow?" he chirped cheerfully.

I hesitated. I didn't know what to say.

"What's wrong?" he asked, sensing my uneasiness.

"Well…"

"You made other plans didn't you?" he accused playfully, to my relief.

He knew me so well. "Sort of," I admitted, innocently, while staring at the ground.

"With…"

"Uh..setokaiba." I blurted, rapidly.

Yugi heard it clearly, much to my dismay. His eyes widened.

"Long story," I continued. "But basically, I had a lot of fun with him the other night, he actually seemed..human. So, he dared me to spend Saturday with him, but don't get me wrong, I want to hang out with you guys. It's just that I don't want to ruin the VERY VERY VERY slight possibility of being something more than just acquaintances."

Reading Yugi's expression, I added with a glare, "Friends."

He nodded in understanding. Fortunately, he agreed to let me go, and he would tell Honda and Anzu that I was busy. But first, he made me promise to hang out with them next Saturday, and to promise to tell him everything that happened. I rolled my eyes. Yugi could be such a girl. He acted like I was going on a date.

I had to admit, it does sort of feel like it. Kaiba won't tell me what were doing. But, he is picking me up in his limo, I'm excited! At the same time I'm nervous. What am I supposed to say? I don't want to sound stupid. Maybe he'll talk to his chauffer the whole time. Oh jeez, now I sound like a girl.

But I've figured it out. I really do want to be Kaiba's friend. Not because he's some big hotshot CEO, but when we're not arguing, he seems really nice. I feel like we just kind of click. I think that the truce would be a waste if we weren't friends. We'll just have to see if he feels the same way I guess.

I'm going to class now.

Seto's POV

I haven't seen Jou all day. I don't have any classes with him, but I expected to at least see him in the hallway. Maybe he's avoiding me because he's going to stand me up tomorrow. Wait, this isn't a date. Anyway, it's something he would do. Ah, finally, the bell. I get to go home, I wonder what's going to occur tomorrow.

-Saturday-

As I woke up, I yawned, while stretching. I glanced down at my phone, which had been thrown carelessly on my nightstand. It was almost 10:00. I was going to pick up Jou in about an hour. I frowned, at the panic I was feeling.

I was in my closet for about half an hour, deciding what to wear. This perplexed me. Don't get me wrong, I care about my appearance. But I look amazing no matter what I wear, so I didn't comprehend why I kept changing. I wasn't subconsciously trying to impress Jou was I? I don't care what he thinks.

Or maybe I do. Maybe I find him fascinating, because he actually stands up to me, and doesn't bore me to death. Which is why I don't see why he hangs around tedious people, such as his friends. He should be friends with someone who is equally captivating, like me.

Wait, did I just call him captivating?

Anyway, I looked in the mirror at my final choice of attire. A plaid button-up shirt, which I looked quite alluring in, if I do say so myself, black skinny jeans, and regular shoes. Nothing too intimidating or gravity-defying. I was pretty content with my choice. I let my hair fall into natural waves, and sprayed my favorite cologne. Hey, I do that every morning, okay.

I checked my phone again, and saw that it was about 10:45. I sprinted outside, and slid into my limo. My chauffer complimented me as I got in. I swear, he has the hots for me. I pushed the button so the privacy divider was up. I slid part of my phone up to reveal a keyboard, which I used to text Jou.

We arrived at his house at 11:00 exactly. Jou got in next to me, and smiled awkwardly. I smirked, and felt a little more at ease. I wasn't the only tense one.

After some time, Jou finally asked the question I was expecting, "Where are we going?"

"You'll see." I responded. "We're here," I announced, only moments later. Anyone could see the disenchantment bluntly displayed on his face as he peered out the window. The building was drab, but for security reasons.

Jou's facials changed as I pushed him inside. "Woah," he gasped in astonishment. "What is this place?"

"My car garage," I stated simply. He stared at me, a mixture of envy and awe in his eyes. I walked over to one of the dozens of cars that were housed in there. "Get in," I ordered. This sounded too familiar. He complied with my command.

I would the next half hour showing him all the different buttons on the radio. He was astounded by what each button had the capability of performing. To me, it was basic technology. Finally, I decided to have a little bit of fun.

"You can touch it," I reminded him. He still seemed timid. At this, I gently grasped his had, and guided it along the buttons. He was turning really red, I had no idea why.

I lightly returned his hand to his lap, and got out. He followed me, as I shut the door.

"Would you like to see some of my other cars?"

"Sure," he concluded.

We went through rows and rows of them, until he stopped at one of my favorites. "That is beautiful," he remarked. I nodded.

"It's a favorite of mine," I confessed. I could tell he really liked it. "Hold on," I muttered. I went and made a quick phone call. "Ready to go?" I asked. He drew his eyes away from the car and tagged along behind me.

We went to go see a movie after that. The theater was pretty empty. I was starting to get bored, and so I threw a piece of popcorn at him. This resulted in a popcorn fight, which was pretty amusing. After that, it was starting to get dark, so I told my chauffer to take him home.

"If you could have one thing, what would it be?" I asked him curiously. He turned away from the window, which he had been staring out of for the past twenty minutes.

"What? Oh. A friend." He mused.

"Don't you have all the friends you want?"

He looked me in the eye. "Not you." He acknowledged.

I looked at my hands. He couldn't possibly want to be my friend. I used to be such a jerk to him. I didn't understand Jou. I guess I pondered this for too long, because the next thing I knew, he sprinted out of the limo.

I wasn't too worried, but I called one of my assistants anyway. " You know the surprise? Well, can you attach a card to it?" Then I hung up.

I just wish I could be there tomorrow morning when Jou wakes up to the car-yes my car that he was ogling at- with a little card that says:

_She's all yours,_

_From a Friend._

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So, what'd you think? & Remember, review and pairings please!


	6. The Glitch In the Truce

Author's Note: Ahh! Only one chapter left, *sniff*. Okay, let's see. I had to rewrite this, it sucked at first, but now i'm more satisfied with it. Too bad it matters what you think and not me, so yeah. I thought this chapter was pretty interesting. Over 2,000 words without the A/N. whoo :) I tried to make Kaiba less OOC in this chapter,but it's getting harder for me. Jou's POV the whole time. Keep up with the pairing suggestions please ^_^. And Review, please :D

Enjoy. Thanks to all my reviewers, people who added me to their alerts, and all my readers! Y'all are great! :3

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The Glitch in The Truce

I yawned, and rolled over. I must have gotten nine or ten hours of sleep, because I was full of energy. I looked at the clock. Only Six-thirty in the morning? No way. My dad wasn't even awake yet. I peered outside my window, and saw that it wasn't too dark. Perfect timing for a walk. I like going on walks to clear my mind.

I pulled on a hoodie, and went out the door. I began walking. I looked down to turn on my iPod, but then-ow. I had run into something. I looked up, wondering what the hell was in my driveway. I was shocked. When I first saw the car in the driveway, I shrugged it off as my dad's girlfriend's car. But my dad doesn't have a girlfriend, so I took another look at the beauty. It was _his _car. Seto fucking Kaiba's car was in my driveway. But why?

Then something small and white caught my eye. A card. I opened it rapidly, and read those words at least 50 times.

_She's all yours,_

_From a Friend._

Seto Kaiba? My friend. Seto Kaiba is my friend. It sounds so nice, for once to be able to say that without the word 'not' between 'is' and 'my'. I was still shocked. I hardly expected him to give me his friendship, much less a car. Wow, he was one amazing friend. But, how could I thank him? Well, Kaiba, as always was one step ahead of me. My phone vibrated. I touched the screen.

_1 New Text Message(s). View Now?_

I tapped 'yes' and wondered who could be texting me this early in the morning. I smiled when I saw the sender. It was Kaiba. For some reason, I felt excited, like a little kid on Christmas. Over a text. What the fuck was wrong with me. I read the text.

_Jou,_

_You're probably still asleep, but anyway, when you get this, and after you go outside, you can read the rest._

For once, Kaiba was wrong. I was awake. I made a mental note to tease him about this later. I laughed, imagining his bossy voice. And for once, I kind of missed that bossiness. Weird. Since I had already gone outside, I touched the scrollbar and moved it down to see the rest of the text.

_You better have liked the car! It was my absolute favorite. Anyway, since I know you're wondering how you can thank me, just come over to my house today at noon. You don't even have to walk, how nice am I? I'm sure it won't be too hard to find, you know, big fancy mansion, huge iron gates with KC on the front. See you. _

I rolled my eyes, he was so conceited. I went inside to go back to sleep for a while. At 11:00, I woke up, took my shower, and threw on some clothes. My dad was still asleep, so I left him a note, telling him I went to go see my friend Seto. For some reason, his name didn't seem right just next to friend. It needed more. Hmm.

I got into the car, and drove to Kaiba's house, getting there at noon exactly. Mokuba told me that he was upstairs, in his room. I jogged up the spiraling stairs. Kaiba's mansion was beautiful. I stared in amazement at how many doors there were. Luckily, Kaiba's was adorned with a Blue Eyes. Engraved in the dragon was 'Seto'. The door was slightly open, so I peeked in.

He was staring up at the ceiling, his phone in one hand. I opened the door a bit further, and squeezed myself into his room. He didn't notice my entrance, even though I thought I had been unnaturally loud. I decided to go against the boring clearing of the throat, and I snuck over to his bed and pounced on him. His expression was priceless, and I whined when he pushed me off of him. I have to admit, I had kind of enjoyed it. That sounds so wrong. But anyway, he pushed me so hard I almost fell off the bed completely. I sulked, but gasped in surprise when he pulled me closer to him. "Jerk," I murmured softly.

His arms stayed around me, and he turned back towards the ceiling. He stayed like that for a while, until he suddenly turned towards me. "What's it like to have a best friend?" he asked sincerely.

"It's kind of hard to explain," I answered truthfully. "You can't really put it into words," Then I saw a hint of disappointment in his eyes. "But, I could show you," I added.

"That's what I thought," he smirked.

"You are such a bastard, sometimes, Set-" Oh, great. I cringed, not knowing how he would react. Not many people called him Seto.

"But, you like it Katsuya." He teased. Big sigh of relief. I blushed. "Katsuya, since we're best friends now, I get you all to myself, right?" I hesitated. That did sound pretty nice. Just us. "I'm kidding," he told me. "I'm not that selfish, but I do expect most of your attention," he added, as I rolled my eyes.

And of course, he got it. Seto Kaiba always gets what he wants. However, my other best friends weren't happy about it, at all. The next week in class, Honda and Anzu ignored me. Yugi still talked to me, but he wasn't as cheerful as usual. By Friday, I knew talking to them about it was the only solution. I asked them to stay after school for a few minutes. So, as everyone else rushed out, we stayed behind. Before he left, Seto knelt next to me. "Call me later Katsuya." It was more of a demand than anything, but oh well, that was Kaiba.

As soon as the door shut after him, Honda exploded. "Katsuya? What the fuck, man? We're not even on a first name basis, and you are with that bastard!"

Yugi took it as his time to step in. "Jou, what Honda is, more or less trying to say is that you're not spending any time with us, and Kaiba gets all your attention,"

"So you ignore me?" I asked, angrily, not really to Yugi.

Anzu calmly answered, "Well, Jounouchi, we are your best friends. I mean, sure we were happy that you two made a truce and everything, but we were hardly expecting you to make something out of it, much less keep it."

"Oh, so you don't want me to have other friends? You're just jealous!" I accused, storming out. I didn't expect for the truce to cause any problems, but they were being so immature about it. Before I knew it, tears were streaming down my face. I called Kaiba, my voice shaking.

"**Hello?"**

"_S-set-o?"_

"**What the hell Katsuya, are you crying? Get over here, now."**

I assumed that was his way of sounding worried. I drove over to his house. He dragged me up to his room. We were laying down facing each other, while I explained everything to him.

"I'll kick their asses," he stated as he wiped my tears. "No one makes my best friend sad, because then I'm sad. And I hate being sad." I smiled slightly. He always had to make things about himself. Then, he decided that watching a movie would cheer me up. Too bad the only movies he had were horror, which wasn't exactly my favorite genre.

He found this out when I jumped up during one of the scarier scenes. I think I almost broke his nose. I apologized at least ten times, but then he told me to shut up. As the next gory scene began, I whimpered. His arms encircled me and pulled me back towards his chest. One of his arms remained, while the other stroked my hair. I knew he didn't think anything of it when he mumbled gently into my hair, "Just like Mokuba."

'Except Mokuba doesn't like you like this.' I thought.

--

The next thing I knew, I was waking up. I was still in his bed. I flipped around to see if he was still there. His beautiful sapphires stared at me. "You fell asleep, so I told your dad you were sleeping over. And so, he invited me to sleep over at your house tonight." Kaiba smirked.

"Shit!" I exclaimed. "I gotta go clean my room then!" He laughed as I sprinted to my car. After I cleaned my room, I began looking on the internet. There was an article I saw once, and now I really needed it. f Bingo, I found it. I looked it over, nervously. I heard my father call me. He said that he was going out, and that he'd left money for pizza on the counter. I went back into my room. I still had another half of an hour before Kaiba would be coming.

My phone brightened. I had gotten a text.

**Get on IM Please.**

**-Yugi**

I closed the text. For a while, I contemplated what to do. Did they deserve a second chance? I mean they had been pretty harsh towards me. But, then again, they were friends with me before Kaiba. So, I decided to see what they wanted. Then, I moved over to the computer. Leaving the article up, I signed onto my instant messenger. Yugi, Anzu, and Honda were all on. I sighed, knowing that this was planned.

' **Chat Invitation for katsuyaj : Yugim invites you to chatroom 108596532' **

I accepted his invitation, dreading what would come up next. I looked at the clock at the bottom of the screen. Just fifteen minutes until Seto would be here. I was beyond nervous, for more reasons than one.

**YugiM: **Jou, we're all sorry.

HirotoH: Yeah… We didn't mean to be jealous, man.

AnzuM:What we're saying is, we're happy that you and Kaiba are friends, and we want to be your friends again ^_^

_KatsuyaJ:_ You guys were right, I'm sorry, I didn't expect for the truce to last either

_KatsuyaJ: _I sure as hell didn't expect for it to go this far.

_KatsuyaJ:_ But I didn't think that there would be a glitch in the truce either.

**YugiM: Truce?**

_KatsuyaJ:_ LOL.

Just then, my doorbell rang. Kaiba. I shuddered.

_KatsuyaJ: _K.G2G.

**YugiM: **bye.

AnzuM: Bye! ^_^

HirotoH: See ya, J.

I minimized the IM quickly, I would sign off later. I went to the door. Kaiba looked stunning as always. "Hey," I greeted him.

He gave me a dazzling smile and looked around curiously as I let him inside. He nodded his approval at my house, then looked at me. "Where's your room?"

"In a rush to get to the bed are you?" I joked.

He grinned devilishly. "It's over here," I pointed. I opened the door for him, and he jumped on my bed.

"It's soft," He commented. "Not as nice as mine though," I gently hit him on the head. He grabbed my wrists, and pulled me towards him. We locked eyes and then-

Beep.

My instant messenger blinked orange at the bottom of the task bar, alerting me about someone signing off or being away. Something like that. But, my dumbass had left the article up. Seto hadn't noticed it yet, so I jumped up and stood protectively in front of the screen. Great, I had attracted Kaiba's attention, and now I couldn't close it without the chance of Kaiba seeing the article. "Katsuya, what is it?" Seto demanded.

"It's n-nothing," I stammered.

"Katsuya. Move." I stayed firmly in place. If he saw the article, that would be the death of me. "Jou, it cannot be that bad. Just move." I wouldn't. I couldn't.

He got up from my bed and picked me up, tossing me gently on my bed. Then he turned, and concentrated his eyes on the screen. I cringed as his eyes moved over the title.

'_**7 Ways to Tell Your Best Friend that You Like Them'.**_

* * *

**** Cliffhanger ;o Hope you liked it :) Review please_!_

Only one chapter left, it should be posted soon!


	7. What The Truce Produced

A/N: Last chapter,how sad. But i'm about to start a new SxJ fic. It's going to be totally irrelevant to this one, so look out for that. This is short, but i like it. I ended it where i did because i didn't want anything too sappy or too mature. Read and review please!

Thanks for everything! It's greatly appreciated.

-Amanda

* * *

Seto's POV

My heart was sinking, slowly. '7 Ways to Tell Your Best Friend that You Like Them'? The possibilities were limited, but I had a bad feeling that Jou liked…

"The runt?" I asked stiffly, hoping to conceal any hint of concern, or hurt in my voice. Jou was blushing madly, but oddly, the blush faced and was replaced by a look of disgust. I wanted to laugh, but this was a serious situation.

"WhatTheHell? Ewwwwww! No." He exclaimed, as if he was trying to get something revolting from the tip of his tongue. "Seriously, Seto? You really think that I would like him?" he asked in disbelief.

I shrugged. It did seem pretty silly now that you think of it. "Honda?"

"My buddy, and only my buddy."

"Anzu?" I asked, quite seriously. The only response I got was him rolling off the bed in a fit of laughter. Oh, right. I believe it was Yugi that had a crush on Mazaki. I sighed, and frowned. "Then how many best friends do you have, Jounouchi?"

He held up four fingers, still laughing uncontrollably. It was starting to get on my nerves. It wasn't even remotely funny, and plus, I seriously wanted to know who he liked. I tried to ignore his obnoxiousness, and concentrated on the number. Four. Yugi, Honda, Anzu, and…

Me. My heart fluttered, and I shook my head. It's probably Ryou or something. I know he said that we were best friends, but that was probably just so I would shut up. "Jou?" I wanted to know the truth. And I wanted to know it now. Unfortunately, he hadn't noticed that I was talking to him, because he was _still_ laughing. Oh, fuck it.

"Mutt!" I said, rather sharply. I instantly felt bad, but I couldn't show it. So, I just glared at him.

Jou's POV

That name stung. I couldn't believe it. I was about to cry. But I would not cry _in front_ of Seto Kaiba. He would probably think I was some pansy. What the fuck am I saying? I don't care what Seto fucking Kaiba thinks because Seto Kaiba does not care about me.

"Get out." I said, between clenched teeth. His expression was unreadable. He got up, and slammed the door. 'He didn't mean that,' I assured myself. 'He didn't call you mutt on purpose, or slam the door because he was mad at you'.

I frowned, and thought out loud. "Then why did you make him go?" I was so stupid. I _should have _told him that I liked him. I _could have_ had a boyfriend. I _would have_ been in heaven. But no, I didn't. I didn't pay attention to him when it was crucial, and now, he' s gone. It's not that dramatic, I'm not going to die, he wasn't the love of my life, and the gang still has my back. But…the truce. It's broken. All that work…for absolutely nothing.

I feel worthless.

I think I heard the doorbell ring, but my pops was home, so he probably got it. There was a soft knock on my door as he called my name.

"Come in," I murmured, into my pillow. I had gotten back onto my bed after Se-Kaiba left. Apparently, someone sent something for me. Well, that's what my pops said. After he left, I rolled over so that I could see what he was talking about.

Flowers. They were absolutely beautiful. I sniffed them, they smelled amazing. Who could have sent them? Only Mr. Seto Fucking Perfect Kaiba. I sighed, after seeing that they were addressed from him on a little card. There was writing on the inside.

_I'm Sorry. But I know sorry won't help._

Damn right, it wouldn't help. It was like he was admitting defeat. Obviously, he didn't care enough about our friendship, if you could call it that, to fight for it. I sighed. But there was more.

_I just want you to be happy._

I frowned. "Too bad I'm only happy with you!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, out the window. I felt bad, I didn't want to disturb any of my neighbors. I sat back down on my bed. I started plucking the petals of the flowers, in a pathetic attempt to destroy them. But instead, I found myself doing something else. "He loves me, he loves me not…" I sang. It made me feel a little bit better. I had to remind myself that the outcome wasn't reliable. But, I practically jumped for joy when I came down to the last petal. "He loves me." I wish he did. Well, he _did_ send me flowers. But, he had been a jerk, so I deserved them. I really needed to get over myself. This was Seto Kaiba. He doesn't just send people flowers, or give them cars. He only spent money on himself and Mokuba. The people who mattered to him. I had to know if he cared about me, I just had to.

I ran out the door, "Going for a drive dad!" I mumbled in rushed words, hoping he would get the gist of them. I put the keys in the ignition. The car turned on, but then a little light flashed on along with a 'ding' sound. Great. The tank was on 'E'. I slammed my head on the dashboard. Damn it. I would just have to walk.

It was a gloomy day outside, so I should have known that it would start raining soon. I just hurried to Kaiba's house, hoping I wouldn't look too ridiculous. It took me just under an hour. His neighborhood wasn't that far from mine, but on foot, it seemed a thousand miles away. Once I reached his house, I rang the doorbell, half-hoping he wasn't home. But it was Seto Kaiba who answered.

He looked extremely confused. "Why are you all wet?" He suddenly looked at me in a different way. "Do I excite you that much?"

"Bastard." I muttered, understanding instantly what he meant. "I didn't _have_ to walk all the way over here."

He grabbed my wrist and pulled me in the house. "Katsuya, I'm sorry that I hurt your feelings. I really am. But you weren't paying attention, and I had to know, I have to know who you like." He led me to his room, and waited expectantly.

Why was he so curious? I didn't get it. Oh well, this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and I wasn't about to waste it. Here goes nothing…

"You." I couldn't gauge his reaction, so I kept going. " I've liked you for a while, actually. I thought I had a little crush on you before the truce, so that's why I actually let Yugi talk me into going through with it. Okay? But then I knew, the first time we hung out. I knew that it was more than just a silly little crush. I knew, that when you were showing me your stereo, and you were holding my sothat internet article, okay? I knew I had to tell you, before it became too obvious. I just didn't want to ruin our friendship, and I didn't want you to get all freaked out over it."

Seto just stared at me. Then, as I was about to leave, he pulled me close to him. And he kissed me, gently but fiercely, roughly but lightly, it was everything all at once. Sensational. It was so amazing, I started to feel dizzy. I didn't know how much longer I could stand without falling. Seto noticed this as well, because he pushed me towards his bed, so when my knees finally gave in, I landed gently on his bed, pulling him with me.

Just as he was about to get up, Mokuba barged in. "Sorry guys didn't mean to interrupt…" Mokuba apologized quickly and left.

I looked at Seto, bewildered, but then I got what Mokuba was thinking. I laughed, hysterically. "He- thought- we-sex," I managed to spit out between laughs.

"What's so funny? I could see that happening right about-now."


End file.
